It is well known within the field that when a fuse has blown, it can be quite time consuming and difficult to locate the fuse, especially under circumstances during the night, or in the dark where no exterior lighting is provided. This situation is more often encountered such as when one is within a vehicle and the fuse block/box is positioned within the glove box or under the dash. In such a situation it can be extremely difficult and irritating when one is searching for the blown fuse which must be replaced and they simply can't see the fuses and/or the fuses are not easily accessible.
It is therefore contended by the applicants that an efficient, easily installed blown fuse indicator cap which includes indicator means, such as a light, a buzzer, etc., would be most advantageous and would eliminate guess work for the user, as well as save time and wasted energy.
The above noted situation has been addressed within the prior art and attempts have been made to resolve the problems associated therewith, but most attempts prove to be much to costly and to complicated for the average user to install, or they are simply inefficient.
The following are exemplary prior art references relating to blown fuse indicators such as found within the field of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,139 teaches a "FUSE CHECKER FOR TESTING INTEGRITY OF A MINIATURE, PLUG-IN FUSE WHILE THE FUSE IS INSTALLED IN AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT". This reference is functional for its intended purpose which is to "test" the condition of a fuse. The test is performed by using a checker which includes a housing from which extends a pair of parallel contact points adapted for engagement with terminal tabs that lie within terminal access openings within a plug-in type fuse housing and in practice, the user must manually insert the checker and apply constant pressure upon the terminal tabs while the test is performed and if a fuse is blown, one of two LED's located on the checker housing will illuminate, and if the fuse is not blown, both LED's on the checker will illuminate. This checker device is not designed to be used and/or installed on a permanent basis and is only usable for performing the above described test. This reference is therefore limited in use and could not be installed on a permanent basis as can the present invention.
Various types of spring clips have been taught for securing a blown fuse light indicator to a cartridge fuse housing as indicated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,300,913 and 3,457,535. However, these references are much too complicated and include additional parts which the present invention eliminates.
Another example of a blown fuse indicator is taught within our previous U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,118. However, this device is only functional with plug-in type fuse housings and cannot be used with standard cartridge type fuse housings, as taught by the present invention. Although, it is to be understood the circuitry as taught within our prior patent is utilized within the present invention, so such circuitry is not claimed herein.